I’ve been quite an avid fan of Jensen Ackles for a long time, ever since “Supernatural’s” Dean Winchester appeared on the screen twenty years ago and captured my heart. Ackles has been in quite a few series since then, including his memorable turn as Soldier Boy in ‘The Boys’ (returning in 2026), but I am loving how much buzz there is for the new show he’s starring in, ‘Countdown’. The internet has been so full of “Countdown” content that it’s been difficult to keep up – which is definitely NOT something I’m complaining about!
Even the TV Guide which still gets delivered to our house old school featured Ackles and company on the cover, much to my great delight.
In fact, it seems like Jensen Ackles and “Countdown” are everywhere.
If you were in New York City, you were treated to a billboard!
Thanks to Prime Video kindly sending me the advance screeners, I’ve been able to watch the new series (the first four episodes so far) and I am now even MORE excited for everyone to see them too. While we wait for the series to kick off on June 25 so I can post all my thoughts on the first three episodes that I’m absolutely bursting to share, here’s why we are all so full of anticipation. (No spoilers!)
One reason for all the excitement? Derek Haas is not only the showrunner, but wrote ALL the first season episodes.
The first thing Jensen Ackles said to me about ‘Countdown’, back when the show was announced, was how excited he was to be working with Derek Haas. Haas created ‘Chicago Fire’ and wrote over 200 episodes of that show and its various spinoffs, impressing a lot of people along the way – including Ackles.
And Amazon.
And guess who else has been impressing Amazon (and Haas) along the way? That’s right. Ackles. That makes “Countdown” an absolute love fest, with all three feeling lucky to be working with the other two. And it shows!
During the press day last week, Haas told GiveMeMyRemote.com that after he pitched Countdown to Amazon, one of the execs called him and said “you’ve got to meet this guy, Jensen Ackles.” The two went to lunch, discovered they grew up in the same hometown, and totally hit it off. “From that moment on,” Haas said, “I was thinking about and writing Mark Meachum in Jensen’s cadence. He’s so funny and nice and up for anything, and that kind of infused the character as we went.” In another chat with The Wrap, Haas remembered the genre shows he’d loved growing up, like Raiders, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, and said “Thankfully, I got Jensen Ackles – he could have been in any of those movies.”
Add to that an ensemble cast who are both talented and apparently just plain wonderful to work with, and you’ve got a recipe for success. I confess I didn’t know Haas or his work, but I’ve followed Ackles and his work for twenty years as a passionate “Supernatural” and “The Boys” fan. Hearing him talk about the great atmosphere they had on the Countdown set, the cast playing games or playing guitar in between takes, is what makes me most excited about the show. When there’s that genuine chemistry in real life, it translates to the screen – anyone who watched Supernatural knows that!
Ackles has talked many times about how important it was to him to set a tone on the set of “Supernatural” that made going to work fun, with the cast and the crew joking around until they called Action, including in his chapter in ‘There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done’. He brought that ethos to Countdown. The behind-the-scenes photos shared during filming and taking a break from press day make that clear.
Ackles admitted to ExtraTV that he tried hard to break everyone and make them laugh, both cast and crew.
Ackles: I think it sets a tone on set that is – you forget we’re making entertainment here sometimes – I like to have fun doing what I do. It should be fun, you should enjoy it. I like that kind of environment to create in.
There’s a reason “Supernatural” ran for 15 years, after all.
At the premiere party for “Countdown” last week in LA and in the press day interviews, the mutual love fest that Jensen Ackles and costar Eric Dane have going on was also clear. Dane was recently diagnosed with ALS; Ackles was a steadfast and supportive friend at his side for much of the press day and Dane had nothing but praise for Ackles as both a friend and an actor.
Ackles shared with People that Dane’s command of scenes and his quiet leadership were something that came through onscreen but were also influential on set, calling Dane “a total stud”. Dane, like ‘The Boys’ Antony Starr, was hoping mutual acquaintances would give him some dirt on Ackles, but nope. “I love you,” Dane confided to Ackles in an interview with TooFab. “Shut up,” Ackles retorted fondly.
All the actors complimented each other in the press day interviews. That translates into lots of chemistry between them onscreen, which sets “Countdown” apart from your standard procedural.
“Countdown” follows an LAPD officer (Ackles) who is recruited to a secret task force to solve a murder. In the process a sinister plot to take down the whole city is uncovered, upping the stakes considerably. That sounds like relatively standard procedural fare, but the show stands out in more ways than one.
First, Ackles and Haas have expressed their excitement for the format of “Countdown” – like many streaming shows, it will release some episodes simultaneously, in this case the first three. But like more traditional network shows, the rest of the episodes will release weekly, giving fans time to dissect and discuss and hypothesize and do what fans do best.
Instead of six or eight episodes, “Countdown” has thirteen, giving its audience more time with the characters to get to really care about them. As a psychologist who studies fandom, I think that both of those strategies make a difference. Every show dreams about building a fanbase as loyal, long-lasting and passionate as Supernatural’s, but it’s difficult to do with a limited number of episodes that all drop at once, precluding the anticipation that’s an agonizing and pleasurable part of fandom and not providing enough content and backstory to nourish fans’ discussion and creativity in expanding its canon.
“Countdown” aims to remedy both those problems. Of course, you still have to have a well written and conceived show with compelling characters to capture fans’ attention – but guess what? “Countdown” has managed to do that too!
Second, the show is as suspenseful as its ticking stopwatch title card suggests. It pulls you in and grabs hold of you and just doesn’t let you go. From its first frames, the series knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat with its well choreographed action scenes and epic chases. The filming angles make you feel like you’re right there in the midst of the action, the music is so good it’s an integral part of telling the story, and the fast pace gets your adrenaline pumping. Do not drink a big cup of caffeine while you’re watching this show!
It’s not just the action and suspense that draws you in, though, it’s the people. Countdown also introduces its ensemble cast of characters slowly enough that you feel like you get to know them a little before the team is assembled – and you even start to care about them. I have A LOT more to say about the characters, but I’ll save most of that for the 25th. I will say that the chemistry Ackles keeps saying was created “in disgusting amounts” is very much in evidence.
Third, the series (at least the four episodes I’ve watched so far) is remarkably consistent. Haas wrote all the episodes of this first season and is also the showrunner, so it’s a tight narrative – something that’s rare in a 13 episode series! Haas is a gifted writer, creating characters who each stand out in their own way. He shows them to us gradually, letting us form a first impression just like their fellow team members do, but then giving us glimpses of what’s underneath – which often contradicts their surface presentation just enough that we’re left going hmmmm…
Sure Mark Meachum is a badass full of bravado and snark – a cowboy who doesn’t fit the mold and doesn’t care. But we find out quickly that he does care about justice, especially when it’s the powerful hurting the less powerful. And he’s not afraid to put his own future on the line to do what he thinks is right. The other characters are similarly complex, all facing challenges they’d rather the rest of the team not see. Nathan Blythe is the team leader, the anchor keeping them in check as well as the calm presence who keeps them grounded, and Eric Dane is the perfect actor to bring him to life. Every character is unique, with a backstory that’s relatable enough that we want to know more.
Jensen Ackles fans are split as to whether there should be any parallels drawn to Ackles’ iconic role as Dean Winchester in Supernatural – Ackles himself, who loves Dean as much as any of us do, has been happy to make those comparisons, saying that the Mark Meachum character will be familiar
Any character who says (with great sincerity) like Mark Meachum does “If I’m going out, I’m going out saving something” would have a hard time not reminding me of Dean Winchester! In my book, that is far from a bad thing.
Both Eric Dane and Jensen Ackles know what it’s like to be known for playing a long-running character on a popular show (like Grey’s Anatomy or Supernatural).
Ackles: If you get put into a box in this industry, maybe from a working actor’s perspective it’s debilitating, but I don’t view it as that. I view it as the fact that we actually made it into a box and there is a playground in which we can play. I’m happy to play in that as long as this industry will let me. If it wants to see me in somewhere else and play in a different playground, I’m happy to do that too. I don’t have to do this, I get to do this. As long as I get to keep playing with amazing people like this and telling amazing stories like Derek has created, put me in a box all day.
Eric: I love him.
Interviewer: I love you both.
Me: I love everyone in this video!
And I do really appreciate Jensen’s genuine gratitude and enthusiasm for the profession he loves and the characters he plays. And how he looks in that green shirt.
TV Line gets my award for interview question that most amused Ackles: Would you say that Mark Meachum has BDE – Big Dean (Winchester) Energy?
Ackles: Yeah I think you could definitely say there’s a familiarity there. I don’t know about similarity, but there’s a familiarity in that they’re a little cavalier in the way they attack the dark forces.
And that is very very fun to watch! (Of course, as he pointed out, the dark forces Meachum is going after are mortal, not ghost and vampires. Hence he only needs a pistol instead of a whole trunk full of weapons).
Mark and Dean are not the same in many ways, but the things that are familiar are things that I enjoy in a character – things that make a fictional character human. That make us care about them. Ackles excels at showing us that nuance and reluctant vulnerability in a character, and I am already intrigued by Mark Meachum as a result.
Are you enjoying all the buzz as much as I am? You can catch Jensen Ackles tomorrow on Jimmy Fallon talking “Countdown” – and then catch the premiere of the first three episodes on June 25 streaming on Prime Video.
Check back here for more on June 25!
-Lynn
You can read Jensen’s insightful chapters
in There’llBe Peace When You Are Done and
Family Don’t End With Blood, info at
the link below:
Lynn Zubernis, PhD is an expert on all things “Supernatural,” and has published numerous bestselling books on the subject. You can check them out here.
